David Karofsky
David "Dave" Karofsky is a student at William McKinley High School who, along with friend Azimio, constantly bullies the kids in Glee Club, especially Finn Hudson and Kurt Hummel. In the season 2 episode Never Been Kissed, Dave is revealed to be confused about his sexual orientation after he kisses Kurt. Dave is portrayed by Max Adler. Biography Dave Karofsky is an ex-hockey player at William McKinley High School. He currently plays right guard on the football team. He likes to bully people who are beneath him socially, in Glee club, or when someone does something that the jocks consider to be "uncool". He seems to be good friends with Azimio Adams, as the two usually bully together. Dave is currently struggling with his deeply closeted homosexuality, causing him to lash out at people. Season One Dave Karofsky first appears in the episode Mash-Up, splashing Finn and Quinn with a grape slushie. He has a grudge against Finn because he made fun of his pubes in the fifth grade, and takes Finn's recent fall from popularity to enact his vengeance. Dave also slushies Puck while he is walking with Rachel. In Mattress, Dave and Azimio corner Finn in the locker room and write on his face as "practice" for doing it to his to glee club photo later. They then tease Finn about having a big forehead. Dave is later seen defacing the glee yearbook page, surrounded by other laughing jocks. In Hell-O, Karofsky and Azimio are briefly seen slushing Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes. In Bad Reputation, he is seen serenading Sue Sylvester by quoting lyrics from Physical. In Theatricality, Dave and Azimio continue to make fun of the glee club. He pushes Tina into a locker, and Kurt yells at him for it. He berates them for dressing in Lady Gaga costumes, roughing them up in again later when they have not changed their clothing. The duo attempt to beat up Kurt once more in the end of the episode, but Finn (wearing a Lady Gaga costume of his own) stops them, backed up by the rest of the glee club. Dave says he and Azimio will "bring some friends" the next time. Season Two In Audition, he is seen in the background while Jacob interviews Finn and Rachel about her "expected return to the Shire." Rachel gives both Dave and Azimio $100 to slushie herself, Kurt, and Mercedes in front of Sunshine's locker, hoping she'll be scared out of auditioning. However, after consulting Kurt and Mercedes, makes a change of plans. She directs Sunshine to a fake audition at a crackhouse instead. In Britney/Brittany, he and Azimio rip Finn's varsity jacket into half, since he is no longer on the football team. Finn was about to fight them, but Artie comes in between them. Neither he or Azimio are comfortable with the thought of hurting a kid in a wheelchair, so they leave. Later in the episode, Dave and Azimio comment on Rachel's schoolgirl outfit. While Azimio makes catcalls, Dave asks Finn why all the gay dudes get the hot chicks. Dave next appears in Duets, where he and Azimio slushie Sam Evans for being the newest member of the glee club. In The Rocky Horror Glee Show, Dave and Azimio make fun of Finn for walking down the hallway in his boxers. In Never Been Kissed, Dave is shown going out of his way to bully Kurt at every opportunity. This results in Kurt falling further into a depressive state, until his new friendship with Blaine leads him to confront Dave. After Dave smacks Kurt's phone out of his hand and pushes him into a locker, Kurt follows him into the locker room. He angrily demands to know why Dave won't stop attacking him. When Kurt begins to insult him, Dave gets visibly upset and demands he stop pushing him, holding his fist up threateningly. When Kurt continues his tirade, Dave suddenly and passionately kisses him. He goes back in for a second one, but is pushed away by an obviously shocked and frightened Kurt. Dave punches a locker in frustration and flees the room in tears. Kurt brings Blaine to confront him in the stairwell the next day,and nearly publically outs Dave but he denies everything and attempts to leave. When Blaine tries to tell him he's not alone, Dave turns around and angrily forces him against the wall. Kurt easily pushes him off, and Dave runs away, looking scared. He later continues pushing Kurt into the lockers, showing he is unwilling to acknowledge what happened. In The Substitute, Kurt is sitting with Mercedes at lunch as he tries to set her up on a date reassuring her that "love is just around the corner." Dave suddenly appears and winks at Kurt, taunting him one again. Later, he confronts Kurt at his locker and demands to know whether or not he's told anyone else about the locker room kiss. Kurt tells him he hasn't. Dave threatens to kill him if he does. In Furt, Dave's harassment has reached the point where even his presence obviously terrifies Kurt. He approaches Kurt at his locker and ignores him when he tells Dave he doesn't want him near him. Dave pokes him in the chest and steals Kurt's wedding topper. The Glee girls ask their boyfriends to kelp Kurt, so Artie and Mike confront Dave in the locker room. They demand he leave Kurt alone, but Dave pushes Mike who falls onto Artie,accidentaly hurting both of them. This causes Sam to run in and attack Dave, and the fight escalates between the two of them until Coach Beiste steps in. Sam is left with a black eye as a result of the fight. Later, while Kurt is giving Finn and Burt dancing lessons, Dave makes a limp wristed gesture at Kurt and Finn. Kurt comes clean about the death threat when prompted, angering Burt. He rushes after Dave and throws him up against the wall. The situation causes Sue to call Dave's dad to the school. Though Dave tries to deny everything, Mr. Karofsky notes that Dave has been acting differently, and takes Kurt's side. Sue expels Karofsky. When Sue asks to know why dave threatened to kill him, Kurt maintains Dave's secret, stating that Dave threatened to kill him if he told about the bullying itself. Though relieved he has not been outed, Dave shakes his head in disappointment at Kurt as he leaves the office. Sue later reveals that the school board over-rode her expulsion of Dave due to a lack of physical evidence, and that he'll be returning the next day. She resigns in protest, allowing Figgins to return as principal, and says she'll be a set of eyes and ears for Kurt in the hallway regarding Dave. However, because Dave is returning, Kurt and his parents agree that the safest thing for him is to transfer to Dalton Academy. In Special Education, Dave and Azimio heckle Puck during his Glee Club pitch. He looks nervous when Puck brings up Kurt, glancing at Azimio. After Puck finishes, he and Azimio soundly reject the idea. They incite the football team into roughing him up, though they are not the ones who lock him in the Rent-A-Loo. In A Very Glee Christmas, he is seen throwing a slushie at Mike's face. In The Sue Sylvester Shuffle, Dave is first seen on the field during a football game. He throws the game after Finn makes a comment about how it's funny that Dave is always calling people gay, but never seems to have a girlfriend.In the locker room, a fight breaks out between the Glee guys and the players. Dave stubbornly announces that he refuses to block for Finn, due to his being in the Glee Club. After a brutal group slushie attack on Artie, Dave and the jocks are sent to the choir room, where they and the Glee kids are shocked and angered by Mr. Schue's and Coach Beiste's announcement that the jocks are in Glee Club for an entire week, no exceptions. After a few rehearsals, Dave seems a little less intimidated by the thought of being a Glee Club loser. When Mr. Schuester compliments him on his performance during rehearsals, Dave looks moved, and becomes noticeably more confident when he politely asks Finn if they should do a warmup number before the halftime show. After a well-received performance of She's Not There, by the jocks, they walk through the halls of McKinley with pride. They are stopped in their tracks by the Hockey Team. One of them (Scott Cooper) says that Glee Club turned Dave gay- which he flinches at, still not wanting to admit it- followed by a group slushie. Dave's confidence instantly goes down the drain. He insists on quitting Glee Club, and reluctantly is made to quit football along with the rest of the team (that weren't original Glee Clubbers). At half-time, Puck insists the team join in on the Thriller/Heads Will Roll number. They all agree- except Dave, who stays behind in the locker room in confusion. During the performance, Dave goes and watches. He notices the crowd is loving the show and not booing it as he thought they would, and the Glee Club is having a blast. He smiles, puts on his zombified football shirt, and happily joins in. After the show, the football team play the other half of the game and win. Later, Finn greets Dave at his locker and the two actually seem to get along. When Finn asks him to join on a trip to Dalton Academy to apologize to Kurt before other Glee Club members would allow him to join Glee Club permanently, Dave shoots him down, refusing to ruin his reputation and not willing to face Kurt, as doing so would mean admitting his true sexuality. In A Night Of Neglect, he slushies Santana, only to sneeringly apologize. Later, he begins to taunt Kurt and Blaine, who have come to attend the benefit concert. He seeks them out and mentions about how he was 'pumping iron in the gym this morning' and one of the guys told him that Kurt and Blaine were 'spreading their fairy-dust'. This causes Blaine to say, "You can live whatever lie you want, but don't pretend like the three of us don't know what's really ''going on here." That is when you can see Santana in the background, listening to the conversation (perhaps shadowing that she is the next one to discover the secret about Karofsky's sexuality). After calling Blaine "buck-boy", meaning male prostitute,Blaine shoves him and Karofsky shoves back, almost starting a fight when Santana intervenes and threatens him; he leaves. In Born This way, Santana, in order to bring Kurt back to the school and make herself favorable to win Prom Queen, blackmails him after finding out his sexuality, telling him that if he won't be her gay beard and prom date, she would reveal his secret to the school. Seeing as he has no other choice he accepts. With the blessings of Principal Figgins, he and Santana start an anti-bullying group, called the Bullywhips and form a public, fake apology to the members of New Directions for his past actions against them and Kurt With his dad and Principal Figgins he talks to Kurt and Burt. Burt still holds a grudge against him for threatening the life of of his son, however Kurt, still skeptical, wishes to talk to Dave alone, sending them out of the room. When Dave asks him why he hasnt told anyone about the kiss, Kurt replies he doesn't believe in outing people, but still accepts them for who they are, yet stresses to Dave that even if he is unable to come out to the world, he needs to be educated so that progress can truly be made. Iqbal Theba confirmed that Dave will not be written off the show. Source Personality For the Main Article: Dave's Redemption (The Great Debate pt.3) Dave Karofsky is a stereotypical jock bully. He enjoys terrorizing the kids in New Directions, and seems to favor targeting Kurt Hummel and Finn Hudson in particular. While Azimio's bullying seems to be motivated by a larger sense of maintaining order and keeping the herd in line, Karofsky's seems to be more personal in nature. He's been harboring a grudge against Finn since fifth grade, and seems to target Kurt in a desperate attempt to cover up his own sexual feelings, or as a way to get closer to his possible crush. The majority of the homophobic and hypermasculine insults tend to come from the Azimio side of duo, though Karofsky seems to share his views on "weird" behavior. It was was revealed by his father that Dave is actually quite intelligent academically, usually getting A's and B's in school. In recent weeks, his grades have declined, and he has started acting out and talking back. It has become severe enough that he has threatened to kill Kurt, prompting his temporary expulsion. Since Kurt has transferred to Dalton Academy, his violence seems to have returned to its previous level. It is speculated that he feels less threatened now that the person who knows his secret is gone. Max Adler, who portrays Karofsky, has called him the "insecure, afraid, and shy boy in the corner with this crazy secret, with a rough and tough exterior, a hard edged bully who doesn't take anything from anybody." Dave is "very scared of what he is, scared of telling people his big secrets. He's afraid that it will ruin his life and shatter his whole world. He has to keep up that manliness, be the guys guy, be the jock and fit in with them while he's hiding completely who he is and what he wants." Relationships Kurt Hummel For the Main Article: Dave-Kurt Relationship ''Another Article: The Great Debate, pt.2 In Never Been Kissed, it is revealed that Karofsky's favorite target is Kurt, who he goes out of his way to bully at every opportunity. This results in Kurt falling further into a depressive state, until his new friendship with Blaine leads him to confront Karofsky. Following him into the locker room, Kurt demands an explanation and begins belittling him. This upsets Karofsky, who demands Kurt to back off. Kurt refuses, continuing his rant and daring him to punch him. The final straw seems to be calling Dave extraordinarily ordinary. Karofsky snaps and lunges forward, grabs Kurt, and passionately kisses him. He makes an attempt at a second one, but a stunned Kurt pushes him back. Visibly upset, Karofsky punches a locker and runs out of the locker room. Kurt and Blaine attempt to confront him in the stairwell the next day, but Karofsky refuses to talk about what happened. When Blaine keeps trying, Karofsky rams him against a wall, though he is easily freed when Kurt pushes Karofsky away and demands he stop. Karofsky runs off again, looking frightened. Afterwards, Kurt tells Blaine that until the day before, he had never had a kiss that "counted." Later, Karofsky shoulder checks him into his locker, showing Kurt that nothing has changed. In The Substitute, Kurt and Mercedes are in the cafeteria, where Kurt is trying to set her up on a date. He says that "love is just around the corner," when Dave walks past, asks "Sup, Homo?", then winks at him. He later confronts Kurt in front of his locker, and asks if he told anyone that Kurt kissed him. Kurt is quick to correct him on the details (Dave shushes him and looks around frantically), but Kurt reassures him that he hasn't. Dave then tells him to keep it that way, or he will kill him. He walks away without touching him. In Furt, Kurt has just finished discussing wedding details with Finn, when he finds Dave standing behind him. Though Kurt tells Dave he doesn't want him anywhere near him, Dave smiles and walks forward until Kurt has backed himself against his locker. Dave proceeds to poke Kurt in the chest and slide his finger down, grabbing the cake topper Kurt is holding. Dave then asks Kurt if he can have it and walks away, putting the figure in his letterman jacket pocket. Later in the choir room, Kurt is trying to teach Finn and Burt to dance. Dave walks past the door, and upon seeing Kurt and Finn in a waltzing position, makes a limp wrist motion to mock them. This distresses Burt, who quickly charges Dave in the hallway after Kurt tells him about the death threat. This ultimately leads to the principal's office, where Dave attempts to deny everything. When his father asks why Kurt would lie, he is only able to come up with "Maybe he likes me." He is unable to make eye contact with anyone for long, though he does look at Kurt in desperation when Kurt is asked why Dave threatened him. He is visibly relieved when Kurt lies, but does give him a disappointed head shake as he's leaving the office. At the end of the episode, we find out that Dave is not getting expelled because they have no proof of Dave bullying Kurt. Kurt decides to transfer to Dalton Academy. In Special Education, Dave's eyes get shifty when Puck scolds him for forcing Kurt out (perhaps because of his choice of words: "Don't push me, Karofsky," and "My boy, Kurt"), alternately switching between Azimio and Puck. Azimio gives him a suspicious look. Quotes Category:Characters Category:Minor Characters Category:LGBT Characters Category:William McKinley High School Students Category:William McKinley High School Football Team Members